Salazar, Coast Guard announce drill vessel reviews

Shell Alaska vice president Pete Slaiby said in October a faulty electrical connection associated with one of the valves caused the valve to open and the device descended rapidly, seriously damaging buoyancy chambers.

Salazar said Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Tommy Beaudreau will lead the Shell review. It will look at safety management systems, oversight of contractors and the company's ability to meet the strict Arctic standards, he said.

Ostebo said the Coast Guard investigation of the Kulluk will review the cause of the accident looking at the full scope of all towing vessels, towing equipment, procedures and personnel involved. The investigation likely will take several months, he said.

No date for the Begich hearing has been set. The Senate will reconvene in late January.

Environmental groups strongly oppose Arctic drilling.

Greenpeace spokesman Dan Howells said a review is long overdue and that 60 days may not be enough.

Mike Levine, an attorney for Oceana, said a broad public review about whether companies can operate safely in the Arctic should include other expert agencies.

"We hope this is more than a paper exercise," he said. "The Department of the Interior, after all, is complicit in all of Shell's failures. It granted the approvals and the permits that allowed Shell to operate and ultimately created the situation that led to the Kulluk running aground."